Archive for Movies
John Wayne 8×10 from True Grit
John Wayne in True Grit.
Rooster Cogburn: I mean to kill you in one minute, Ned. Or see you hanged in Fort Smith at Judge Parker’s convenience. Which’ll it be?
Ned Pepper: I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man.
Rooster Cogburn: Fill your hands, you son of a bitch!
I prefer the John Wayne True Grit over the Coen brothers’ version. I was bothered by all the marble-mouthed talking in the Coen’s. I liked it and many parts were actually better, but overall, John Wayne’s just has that something extra. I find it interesting that I’m calling them “John Wayne’s” and “Coen’s” not “Hathaway’s” and “Coen’s” or “Wayne’s” and “Bridges’.” Jeff Bridges is probably one of the best (if not THE best) actors working today, but it’s still the Coen’s movie.
New Netflix Instant Streaming for February 1, 2012
Quite an eclectic mix this week!
- Sheba, Baby (1975) Has Pam Grier, but the reviews are really mixed. Grier has several that are on Instant.
- More American Graffiti (1979) As a rule, this one gets slammed, but it has its fans.
- Beyond the Sea (2004) A biopic of Bobby Darin starring Kevin Spacey. What a great last name. Spacey. Could work that into a blog name real easy.
- Shane (1953) The classic with Alan Ladd. I personally don’t care for the movie that much. Perhaps I’m not deep enough to really get it. A friend of mine LOVES Shane and thinks I’m a moron for not seeing the deeper story or something. I probably am. It is an OK movie and everyone should see it once. Instant only? Can that be correct?
- Best of the Badmen (1951) Just look at this cast! Robert Ryan, Claire Trevor, Robert Preston, Walter Brennan, Bruce Cabot, and Lawrence Tierney! WOW! They have the James and Younger gang and some revenge thrown in. This one is definitely going in my queue. Instant only.
- Oxford Blues (1984) One of the lesser known “Brat Pack” 80s movies, but one that I really enjoyed a lot. Rob Lowe goes to Oxford as the Ugly American, all for love. Alley Sheedy is in it too! Instant only.
- The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976) Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen. She lives alone as a 13-year-old and is hiding something in the cellar.
- Nightmares (1980) I know nothing about this. Instant only.
- Bloody Birthday (1981) Kids are killers.
New Netflix Instant Streaming for January, Friday the 13th, 2012
- Rawhide (1959-61) Clint Eastwood’s big break. My kids will be excited about this as this is their favorite of the old Westerns.
- Joe (1970) Susan Sarandon, Dennis Patrick, and Peter Boyle in a movie I’ve never heard of. Here’s the Netflix summary: “Starchy advertising executive Bill Compton forms an unlikely alliance with bigoted blue-collar worker Joe Curran to find Bill’s daughter when she escapes from a mental facility after learning that her father murdered her drug-peddling lover.”
- Eames: The Architect and The Painter (2011) If you love mid-century design, you have the Eames to thank. Vitally important designers in Modernist style.
- Daag (1973) Another Bollywood-type movie.
- The African Queen (1951) A deserved classic. Bogart and Hepburn go down a river in Africa to blow up a German ship.
- The Dam Busters (1955) British film on WWII bombs designed to blow up dams and flood Germany.
- April Fool’s Day (1986) One of the few 1980s horror movies I liked.
- Blue Hawaii (1961) Elvis! What more do you need?
- Posse (1993) Blacksplotation continued. It’s got Woody Strode who’s a personal favorite.
- Courage Mountain: Heidi’s New Adventure (1990) How about Charlie Sheen in a family movie? Heidi is now a teenager. I saw it a long time ago and liked it.
- Hey, Boo: Harper Lee & To Kill a Mockingbird (2010) For all you literate types out there, a documentary on… I’ll make you guess.
New Netflix Instant Streaming for January 9, 2012
I know posting has been light lately, but the bathroom tiling is almost done! Just have to grout, caulk, and install the water stuff. Even though we live in a (generally) boring ranch-style house, we are doing what we can to make it more interesting. This pattern kind of reminds me of a 1920s to 40s Deco style. You can’t really see the decorative tiles at the top. Maybe I’ll do a post on that later.
What you’re really here for is a Netflix update.
- Breaking Away (1979) I’ve never been able to see this all the way through, but have always wanted to since I saw Siskel and Ebert gave it two thumbs up.
- Flying Tigers (1942) John Wayne classic with him as a pilot. Not too bad a film as long you like John Wayne and movies from the 1940s.
- Star in the Dust (1956) Looks like a TV western movie starring John Agar (you should know who he is), Mamie Van Doren(!) Richard Boone (“Have Gun, Will Travel”), and the recently deceased Harry Morgan. Instant only.
- Fists of Fury aka The Big Boss (1972) Bruce Lee’s film debut.
- Kaala Patthar (1979) A bunch of Bollywood or Bollywood-like movies were released on streaming this last week. This one happens to be old enough to fit on my list. Instant only.
- Story of a Love Affair (1950) Director Michelangelo Antonioni’s first picture about love and jealousy.
New Netflix Instant Streaming for January 4, 2012 (twenty TWELVE!)
Welcome to the first Netflix update of the year! Westerns seems to be the order of the day. If you don’t have Netflix yet, click my ad and help support my habits! Thanks.
- True Grit (1969) The John Wayne original, and I still prefer this over the Coen Brother’s version, though the Coens put a nice spin on a few things.
- Whispering Smith (1948) Alan Ladd western with Robert Preston. I’ve recently watched a couple Alan Ladd movies and really enjoyed them. Instant only.
- Seminole (1953) Rock Hudson, Anthony Quinn, Barbara Hale and Hugh O’Brian in this western(?) about the Seminole Indians in Florida. Instant only.
- Quantez (1957) Fred MacMurray in a western. Instant only.
- Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995) Scorsese is a man who LOVES film and this is your chance to have him educate you. Or, more likely, tell you about himself and his love of film. Could go either way. Either way, I usually enjoy these documentaries. Instant only.
Best Movies (that I watched, not that came out) of 2011
Bunched Undies inadvertently gave me the idea to do a post on the top movies I’ve watched in 2011. I meant to post this sooner, but we decided to re-tile the bathroom and that’s taken all my time (I’m slow and methodical and we picked this complicated pattern). I don’t think I went to the theater this year (at least not that I remember), so most of my movies are older. Much older. These are all movies that I had never seen. No particular order. As you can see, I have pretty idiosyncratic taste. I’m not looking at acting, directing, “art,” grittiness, depressing themes, or anything else critics tend to focus on. The main thing I look for is entertainment. Did I really enjoy my time watching this?
Don Camillo (1952) A pugilistic priest named Don Camillo and a Communist mayor bicker and fight and learn to respect each other even though they vehemently disagree about everything. If only we were allowed some fisticuffs to express our aggression in the real world, perhaps there would be less killing and more grudging respect. The crucifix with Jesus talks to the Priest and he argues with Jesus.I read about this at Bunched Undies. IMDB Amazon
Brick (2005) An excellent example of genre blending. Take film noir and mix it with a high school drama and you come out with one of the best movies of all time. Highly recommended. IMDB Amazon
A Colt is My Passport (1967) See the above for a review of this one too. Super cool movie. IMDB Amazon
Network (1976) I had never seen this classic and while it wasn’t perfect, I can sure see why it caused such a stir back in the 1970s. Well worth your time to watch it. IMDB Amazon
The Woman in the Window (1944) Edward G. Robinson is one of the best actors of all time. This Fritz Lang movie twists the screws on an innocent professor (Robinson) who finds himself in a lady’s apartment with a dead man. He tries to cover it to keep his job and his family but can he? IMDB Amazon
Temple Grandin (2010) Claire Danes plays an autistic woman who figures out more humane ways to treat cattle. Fabulous movie if you like biopics. IMDB Amazon
The Inheritance (1997) This is a made-for-TV movie based on a Louisa May Alcott novel. Period Drama, costume drama, class conflict in the 1800s drama, however you want to call it, I liked it. Stars Meridith Baxter. IMDB Amazon
Lorna Doone (2000) Another made-for-TV, but holy cow, this was outstanding! An emotional roller coaster. Based in 1675 England, there’s a clan of thieves and an honest farmer boy. He hates the clan but falls in love with the leader’s granddaughter. Really top notch. IMDB Amazon
Knight and Day (2010) Yes, this is the third 2010 film in my 2011 list. That’s the way we roll here at RetroHound.com. I fully enjoyed this Tom Cruise pic, but it immediately became one of my wife’s top 10 all time. Just a really fun movie. IMDB Amazon
House of Bamboo (1955) You want to see a movie with real men? This Sam Fuller directed Noir has Robert Ryan and Robert Stack as cynical tough gangsters in occupied Japan. IMDB Amazon
Street People (1976) Make no mistake, this is an Italian B movie. I’d be very surprised to see this on anyone else’s top list, but it was very entertaining. Roger Moore is half-Sicilian, Stacy Keach is half-crazy, and they are looking for some stolen drugs in San Francisco. My wife came in while I was watching it and said “There are 500 movies you want to watch and you choose this crap?” It’s so good it’s VHS and Netflix streaming only, no DVD. IMDB Amazon
One, Two, Three (1961) James Cagney is a Coca-Cola executive in Berlin during the Cold War. This fast-talking, wise-cracking comedy makes fun of capitalism as well as communism. IMDB Amazon
Jackie Brown (1997) I’ve wanted to see this since it came out and never have till this year. Maybe it took so long because I read the book. At least waiting this long I forgot what happened. What a great movie I’ve been missing, it’s my favorite Tarantino movie. Robert Forester turned in an Oscar worthy performance. IMDB Amazon
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) A dark Noir (is that redundantly repetitive?). Dana Andrews is a cop who’s very hard on crooks is warned to stop being so violent. When a guy he was looking for is dead, he tries to cover it. IMDB Amazon
The Young Victoria (2009) Another biopic, but one not frequently told about Queen Victoria and her rise to the throne and becoming her own person while falling in love with Prince Albert. IMDB Amazon
The Endless Summer (1966) A surfing documentary that is narrated in a very dry humor. I loved it. IMDB Amazon
A now a few TV shows that I first watched this year and have loved. As I’ve mentioned before, I went many years without a TV, so I’m now catching up thanks to my wife.
“Hart to Hart” (1979-1984) Robert Wagner and Stephanie Powers are married and crazy about each other. Together they solve crimes, usually murder. Plus, he wears a pinky ring. IMDB Amazon
“Scarecrow and Mrs. King” (1983-87) My wife loves this show. In the first season Kate Jackson looks so good I can’t stand it. Kinda cute show where a suburban divorced mom gets into the C.I.A. IMDB Amazon
“The Persuaders!” (1971-72) Roger Moore and Tony Curtis. 1971. It’s kinda cool, kinda crazy. Hollywood Dreamland brought this to my attention. IMDB Amazon
